Feeder.



No. 747,395.- 4 PATBNTBD DEC. 22, 1903. L. F. FALES.

FEEDER.

APPLICATION. FILED DBO. 29, 1902.

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v PATENTED DEC. 22, 1903.

L. F. TALES.

FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29,1902

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L. F. PALES.

FEEDER.

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UNITED STATES? Patented December 22, 1903.

"PATENT OFFICE.

FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,395, dated December22, 1903.

Application filed December 29, 1902. Serial No. 136,989.. (No model.)

To aZZ whomit may concern:

Be it known thatI, LEWIS F. FALES, a citi-' zen of the United States,residing at Walpole,; in the county of Norfolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Im-. provementin Feeders,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for feed- .ing sheets of flexiblematerial, and has for its,

principal objects the provision of mechanism for controlling thedeliveryof the sheets and to mechanism for adjusting in position or squaringsaid sheets as they are delivered.

In'the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan View of one form ofmy improved feeden' Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking from the rightinFig. 1, with the lower por-.

actuating mechanism therefor in their twov extreme positions; and Fig.8, an enlarged end elevatiouof one of the gages.

Similar characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures ofthe draw tugs. 5

My invention is particularly adapted for use with thatwell-known type offeeder in which a series of traveling rolls support a pile or a bank ofsheets and successively feed forward the lower ones. Therefore for thepurpose of disclosing an embodiment of the invention such a machine hasbeen illustrated.

The letter F designates some suitable support,of which the upper portiononly is shown, consisting ofiside frames 10 10 and a crossbar 11,extended at its ends along the side frames and provided in proximitythereto upon its upper side with finished surfaces or ways 12 12.Transverse plates 12 12 also connect the tops of the side frame at ornear the opposite ends. Journaled in the side frames and in an arm 13extending therefrom are transverse shafts 13 14:, the former able.chains 17 17'. 'of the chain, situated at proper intervals along thesame, are journaled rolls 19, which tween a pair of pinch-rolls 23 24,

of which may carrya driving-pulley 15. Both shafts preferably havemounted upon. them pairs of. sprockets 16 16, over which run suit- Inhearings in the links may be provided near their ends withantifriction-rolls 20, running .over the ways 12 to insure the movementof the rolls 19 in asubstantially horizontal plane.

Supported above the rolls is a holder H, serving to retain the pile ofsheets S in the proper position for feeding, this holder consisting ofsuitable walls 21, supported adjustably, if desired, by standards 21,slidable upon the side frames.

The bottom sheets of the pilewithin the holder will be successivelyacted upon by the rolls upon which they rest, as these are continuouslymoved overthe ways in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 3 and 4 andgradually fed forward under the front wall of the holder in thewell-known manner, passing from the rolls onto a support at the front ofthe machine, which may consist of the plate 12 and assuming the positionillustrated in Fig. 3. Here the foremost sheet enters be- The roll 23may be journaled beneath the plate 12, with its upper surface lying inproximity to the top of said plate, and be continuously rotated by achain 25, passing over sprockets 26 27 on its shaft and the shaft 13,respectively. The roll 24, whichisshownas divided, may be journaled atthe ,end ofa pair of arms 28 28, fast upon a transverse shaft 29,

journaled in standards 29, rising from the plate 12 An arm 29 upon. theshaft is provided with a roll 30for coaction with a cam 31 on a shaft30*, journaled at the outer end of the plate and rotated by gearing 3Ofrom the shaft of the roll 23. This moves the roll 24 toward and fromits companion roll, the two cooperating to intermittently seize anddeliver the foremost sheet from the feeding mechanism to the machinewhich is to operate upon it. 4

To the front wall of the holder is preferably secured a bracket 32, fromwhich projects a spring-arm 33, carrying at its outer end apressure-roll 34:, preferably of rubber, which bears upon the top of thesheets as they project from the holder. This serves to maintain them inoperative contact with the feeding-rolls after they have reached a pointat which they have upon them but a portion of the weight of the pile,and also assists in preventing the upper advanced sheets from beingpulled forward with that delivered by the pinch-rolls. A screw 35,conveniently threaded through the bracket and contacting with the arm33, enables the pressure of the roll 34 to be adjusted.

Preferably on each side of the path of the sheet, just above the surfaceof the plate 12 and not far from the pinch-rolls, is situated a gage tosquare the sheets if they have been displaced or skewed to one side infeeding, and thus insure their being properly presented to the rolls.Each of my improved gages, as here illustrated, consists of asupporting-plate 36, provided with a vertical flange 37, to which aresecured top and bottom gage-plates 3S 39,respectively, between which isa side wall 39 at the face of the flange, the ends of the uppergage-plates and side wall being preferably curved or flared at 39". Thesupporting-plates are secured to carriers 40, which may project throughslots 41 in the table, the connection between the carrier and gagepreferably being through transverse openings in the latter, which allowthem to be adjusted toward and from the sheets. The slots 41 areinclined or lie at an angle to the path of the sheets extending towardthem and in the direction of their advance and terminate at theirforward end in a short portion 42, parallel to the path of the sheet.The portion 42 of the carrier within the slot and in contact with thewalls is preferably cylindrical. The carrier is shown as secured to oneof the horizontal legs of a T-shaped member 43, the opposite leg ofwhich slides within a bearing 44, trunnioned upon screws 45 41), takingthrough the plate 12 and a bracket 47, secured to one of the sideframes, respectively. To the vertical leg of the T member is pivoted aconnecting-rod 4b, which is also articulated to an arm 49, fast upon ashaft 50, journaled in brackets 50*,secu red to the side frames. Aweighted arm 51 acts to hold an antifriction-roll 52 upon an arm 53 atone end of the shaft 50 against a cam 54 on the shaft 30.

The contour of the cam 54 and the relation of the elements is such thatas the foremost sheet starts to advance between the pinchrolls, whichare separated to receive it, the port-ions 42 of the carriers are at theouter ends of the slots 41, and the gages are inclined with relation tothe edges of the sheets, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 6. As the sheet isadvanced the gages are simultaneously moved inward and forward by theiractuating members, the sheet entering between the top and bottom plates,and if out ofits proper position contacting with the side wall 39 of thegage toward which it is displaced, which moves it nward and at the sametime tends to aid in feeding it forward by the component of its movementin that direction. As the sheet reaches its position between the pinch-rolls the carriers enter the portions 42 of the slot, and the gagesassume their final position,with the side walls substantially parallelto the sides of the sheet and in contact therewith. Then as the rollsseize and deliver the sheet the gages are withdrawn and assume theirinitial position. The free compound movement of the carriers in theslots is at all times permitted by the longitudinalreciprocation of theT member and the lateral oscillation of the trunnioned bearing in whichit slides.

In feeders of this class-that is, in which sheets are successivelyadvanced to be seized and delivered to some continuously and regularlyoperating machineit is highly desirable that the feed shall beaccurately timed with respect to the machine supplied to prevent thepossibility of the sheets being too rapidly advanced, as a result, forexample, of variation in the surface of the stock, and thus causing aplurality of the sheets to be operated upon. To accomplishthis, myimproved feeder etfects'a complete cessation of feed from the pile ofsheets by intermittently removing said pile and the feeding mechanismfrom operative coaction, in the present instance the sheets being raisedfrom the feeding-rolls. The means for accomplishing this may be, forconvenience in description, divided into three sets of elements, whichare hereinafter termed the stop mechanism, actuating mechanism, andcontrolling mechanism.

The rolls 19 are each preferably provided with grooves 55, here shown asthree in number and arranged in alineinent to form parallel seriesextending longitudinally of the machine. Along these series of grooveslie bars 56, preferably of some flexible material, as steel,said barsbeing substantially straight where they run along the horizontal line offeeding-rolls beneath the pile of sheets and being bent or curveddownward at each end. At one extremity, here shown as the forward end,they preferably pass between pairs of lugs 57 57, conveniently cast uponthe under side of the plate 12", and may be supportedby pairs ofseparated capplates 58 58, removably secured thereto. Just beyond theend of each bar may be provided a head 59, supported by an extension 60,which slides in a bore in a lug 61 upon the under side of the plate. Aninclined face 62 upon each head may contact with the upper side of thebar between the capplates and be forced against it by a spiral spring63. seated within the bore. 'lhesespring-pressed heads tend to force thebars downward slightly into the grooves, and thus prevent their rattlingby the contact of thetraveling rolls. A screw 64 is threaded through theend of each lug and projects into the bore through the spring,contacting with the extension of the head when this is pressed outwardand serving to IOU a cap-plate and rest in a socket 66, car-- ried in anopening at one end of an arm 67, suitably secured to a transverserock-shaft 69, journaled in the side frames. The sockets 66 may slide inthe openings and be adjusted in position by screws 66 threaded throughthe arms, and contacting. with the ends of the sockets. At or near oneend of this shaft 69 is secured an arm 70, to which is pivoted a link70, which is in turn-articulated to the lower arm 71 of an angle-leverL, fulcrumed on the side frame 10, the link and the arm 71 forming atoggle-lever. ,Contact-screws 7272 threaded through a double bracket 73on each side of the lever L, adjustably limit its movement in eitherdirection. The upper arm 74 of the angle-lever is preferably providedwith a slot 75, into which extends a projection or pin 76, carried by areciprocatory bar 77, sliding along the side frame 10 and retained inplace by suit-' able brackets 78. The opposite extremity of the bar 77inproximity to the driving-shaft is preferably provided with contact-faces79 80, conveniently formed by the opposite end walls of a recess 81. Theabove elements may be considered to constitute the stop mechanism.

The actuating mechanism for thestop mechanism, as here illustrated,consists of a cam 82, preferably mounted on the driving-shaft 13 andprovided with a groove 83 of the form illustrated, with which coacts aprojection or pin 8 L upon a lever 85, fulcrumed to the sideframe, andwhich is continuously oscillated by the cam. At the upper end ofthelever 85 is pivoted a pawl 86, provided with a pin or projection 87 atone side, the opp0 site ends of which pawl may be brought intocooperation with the contact-faces 79 80 by the controlling mechanism,which will no he described.

- Over the plate 12 somewhat in the rear of the pinch-rolls is supportedfor free rotary oscillation a transverse shaft or rod 88, convenientlyupon screws 88*, threaded through standards 88 88 projecting above theplate and engaging depressions at the ends of the shaft, said shaftcarrying contact members or fingers 89, which may be adjustably securedthereon by set-screws 90 or the like. The ends of these fingers maynormally rest upon the roll 23 or on the plate 12 in the line of therolls. To. the shaft 88 upon the end toward the pawl 86 is fastened anarm 92, preferably of -such flexible material as steel. This arm has aslot 93,which receives the pawlpin 87. A torsion-spring 94 is secured tothe shaft and to one of the standards and preferably exerts its force tohold the fingers normally downward.

In the operation of the machine as the foremost sheet advances from thefeeding-rolls the fingers 89.

lowers the arm 92, which pressing upon the toward the delivery-rolls,t-heupper of which is raised to receive it, the fingers are resting uponthe lower roll and the slot in the arm is held in such a position thatthe projection 87 as the pawl is continuously oscillated by the cammoves freely back and forth therein, with one end of said pawl restingin the recess 81 without coaction with either contact-face. The positionof the bar 77 is such that the lever L is in contact with the screw 72,giving the arms 67 theirrearward position and permit.- ting the bars 56who in their grooves slightly beneath the surface of the feeding-rolls.As the foremost sheet continues its advance to its position between thedelivery-rolls it lifts This rocks the shaft 88 and pin 87 lowers theraised .end ofthe pawl, the spring in the arm compelling it to snapquickly into the recess if it happens to fall upon the upper surface ofthe bar. Having entered the recess, in its oscillation toward the rearof the machine the pawl engages the contact-face 79 and moves the bar77, shifting the connecting-lever system against the stop 72*. Thisrocks the arms 67 forward and pressing against the ends of the bar 56bend them upwardintothearched shapeillustrated in Fig. 4, which givesthe maximum supporting strength with the minimum weight, so that atleast the central portion of each rises above the roll-grooves and ispressed with the greatest force against the pile of sheets, removingthem sufficiently from feeding'rolls to prevent them from acting toadvance said sheets. The stop 72 is preferably so adjusted that thetoggle-arms move somewhat by the center or position of maximumextension, so that they are locked against movement by the arm 70 underthe tendency of the bars to straighten, since this force is exerted in adirection substantially longitudinal of the toggle-lever. This cessationof feed is aided and made more positive by the retarding influence ofthe bars 56, which act by their contact with the lower sheets as brakesto counteract any tendency which might remain for these sheets to bemoved by partial contact with the rolls. The extent of movement of thebars from the grooves may be regulated by the screws 64 and 66. Thesheets now remain stationary while the upper pinch-roll descends anddelivers the sheet to the associated machine at the proper time. Whenthis occurs, the fingers fall from the rear edge of the sheet upon thetable. This raises the arm 93 and depressesthe opposite end of the pawl,which is oscillated against the contactface 0'0, and shifting thereciprocatory bar,

which, acting laterally of the toggle-lever,

breaks it and restores the various elements of the stop mechanism totheir initial position, allowing the pile of sheets to resume operativecontactwiththefeeding-rolls,which again act to advance them. Theindependent adjustment for each bar permits them to be caused to actagainst the pile with equal force, and thus prevent skewing of thesheets by uneven pressure while they are still moving.

It will be seen that in my feeder the sheets operated upon will bepresented squarely to the delivery rolls or like devices withoutfriction or drag on the edges and that the presentation may be effectedwith absolute accuracy, since there can be no movement of sheets fromthe pile until that preceding it has been removed, and the foremostsheet cannot be advanced beyond the desired position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination withcontinuously-opcrating mechanism for successively feeding sheets from apile, of controlling mechanism moved in opposite directions by theintroduction and the withdrawal of a sheet, and mechanism positivelyconnected with the controlling mechanism to which these movements arecommunicated to effect a cessation of the feed from the pile uponthemovement of said controlling mechanism in one direction and a renewalthereof upon its movement in the opposite direction.

2. The combination with continuously-operating mechanism forsuccessively feeding sheets from apile, of means for withdrawing theforemost sheet, controlling mechanism normally cont-acting with thewithdrawing means, and mechanism connected with the controllingmechanism for effecting a cessation of the feed from the pile until thewithdrawal of said foremost sheet.

3. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets fromapile, of controlling mechanism moved in opposite directions by theintroduction and withdrawal of asheet, and mechanism positivelyconnected with the controlling mechanism to which these movements arecommunicated to remove the feeding mechanism and pile of sheets fromoperative coaction upon the movement of said controlling mechanism inone direction and to reestablish the coaction upon its movement in theopposite direction.

4. The combination with a continuouslyoperating mechanism forsuccessively feeding sheets from a pile, of means for intermittentlyapplying pressure to the pile to retard the feeding movement of thesheets, the maximum pressure being applied near the center of the pile.

5. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets from apile, of stop mechanism adapted to raise the sheets from operativecoaction with the feeding mechanism, actuating mechanism for the stopmechanism, and controlling mechanism operable by the foremost sheet forconnecting and disconnecting the actuating mechanism and stop mechanism.

6. The combination with traveling rolls for successively feeding sheetsfrom a pile, ofstop mechanism adapted to raise the sheets from operativecoaction with the feeding mechanism, actuating mechanism for the stopmechanism, and controlling mechanism for connecting the actuatingmechanism and stop mechanism.

7. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets from apile, of a bar in proximity to the rolls, and means for bending the barto prevent operative coaction between the feeding mechanism and sheets.

8. The combination with traveling rolls for successively feeding sheetsfrom a pile, of a curved bar in proximity to the rolls, and means forbending the bar to prevent operative coaction between the rolls andsheets.

9. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets from apile, of a plurality of bars in proximity to the feeding mechanism,means for simultaneously moving the bars to prevent operative coactionbetween the feeding mechanism and the sheets, and means forindependently adjusting the extent of movement of each bar.

10. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of a plurality of bars in proximity to the feeding mechanism,means for simultaneously moving the bars to prevent operative coactionbetween the feeding mechanism and the sheets, a member coacting witheach bar, and means for independently adjusting the position of eachmember whereby the movement of the bars is controlled.

11. The combination with rolls provided with grooves said rolls beingadapted to support and feed successively from a pile of sheets, of amember normally lying in the grooves, and means for intermittentlymoving the member from the grooves toward the sheet, the maximummovement of said memher being near the center of the pile.

12. The combination with rolls provided with grooves said rolls beingadapted to'support and feed successively from a pile of sheets, of a barnormally lying in the grooves, a spring exerting its force against oneend of the bar, and means for moving at least a portion of the bar fromthe grooves toward the sheets.

13. The combination with rolls provided with grooves said rollsbeingadapted to support and feed successively from a pile of sheets, ofa bar normally lying in the grooves, and means for bending the centralportion of the bar frotn the grooves toward the sheets.

14. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of a bar in proximity to the feeding mechanism, an armcooperating with the bar, and means for rocking the arm to force theends of the bar toward one another.

15. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of bars in' proximity to the feeding mechanism, an armcooperating with each of the bars, a

shaft to which the arms are secured, and means for rocking the shaft toforce the arms against the ends of the bars.

16. The combination with mechanism for successively'feeding sheets froma pile, ofa bar, a spring exerting its force against one end of the bar,an arm cooperating with the opposite end of the bar, and means formoving the arm to force the bar against the sheet.

17. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of a bar, a toggle-lever connected with the bar, and means forbending the toggle-lever to force the bar against the sheets.

18. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of a bar, a system of levers connected to the bar, areciprocatory bar connected to the lever system, and actuating mechanismoperating upon the reciprocatory bar.

19. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of

. stop mechanism adapted to prevent operative coaction between thefeeding mechanism and sheets, a continuouslyrotating cam, and meansoperable by a sheet for connecting the cam with and-disconnecting itfrom the stop mechanism.

20. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of stop mechanism adapted to prevent operative coaction betweenthe feeding mechanism and sheets, a continuously-rotating cam, a pawloscillated by the cam, and means for efiecting engagement between thepawl and stop mechanism to actuate said stop mechanism.

21. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of stop mechanism adapted to prevent operative coaction betweenthe feeding mechanism and sheets includinga reciprocatory bar providedwith two contact-faces, a continuously-rotating cam, a pawl oscillatedby the cam, and means for moving the pawl so that it may engage the barcontact-faces.

22. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of stop mechanism adapted to prevent operative coaction betweenthe feeding machanism and sheets, actuating mechanism for the stopmechanism including an oscillatory pawl, a finger movable by the sheetsas they are fed, and connections between the finger and pawl wherebythemovement of said finger causes the pawl to engage the stop mechanism.

23. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of stop mechanism ad apted to prevent operative coaction betweenthe feeding mechanism and sheets, actuating mechanism for the stopmechanism including an oscillatory pawl, a finger movable by the sheetsas they are fed, and a spring-arm moving with the finger and connectedwith the pawl.

24;. The combination with mechanism for successively feeding sheets froma pile, of stop mechanism adapted to prevent operative coaction betweenthe feeding mechanism and sheets, actuating mechanism for the. stopmechanism comprising an oscillatory pawl provided with a projection, afinger movable by the sheets as they are fed, and an arm moving with thefinger and having a slot cooperating With the pawl projection.

25. In a feeder, the combinationwith a series of traveling rollsprovided with grooves said rolls being adapted to support and feedsuccessively from a pile of sheets, of a pair of rolls serving towithdraw the foremost sheet, a flexible bar lying in the grooves of thefeeding-rolls, a lever system cooperating with one end of the flexiblebar, a reciprocatory bar provided with opposite contactfaces andconnected with the lever system, a pawl provided with a projection, acam for continuously oscillating the pawl, a movable finger situated inthe path of the foremost sheet, and an' arm connected with the fingerand having a slot cooperating with the pawl projection, the elementsbeing so related that the pawl may engage one contact-face with one endupon theadvance of a sheet beneath a finger and the other contact-facewith the opposite end upon the withdrawal of the sheet.

26. The combination with mechanism for feeding sheets, of a gage for aside of the sheets, a support for the gage, a movable bearing for thesupport, and means for imparting a compound movement to the supportthrough and with the bearing.

27. The combination with mechanism for feeding sheets, of a support overwhich the sheets move provided with an inclined slot at each side of thepath of the sheets extending toward said sheets and in the direction oftheir advance, gages for the sheets, and means for moving the gagesalong the slots.

28. The combination with mechanism for feeding sheets, of a support overwhich the sheets move provided with a slot at each side of the path ofthe sheets, carriers situated in the slots, gages mounted upon thecarriers, supports for the carriers, trunnioned bearings in which thesupports may slide, and means for reciprocating the carrier-supportsthrough the bearings and along the slots.

29. The combination with mechanism for feeding sheets, of a. memberprovided with a slot at each side of the path of the sheets, one portionof each slot lying at an angle and another portion extending parallel tosaid sheets, gages coacting with the sheets, and means for moving thegages along the slots.

Signed at Walpole, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts,this 22d day of November, 1902.

LEWIS F. FALES.

Witnesses:

GEORGE A. FALES, MARGARET C. DALTON.

